It has come to my attention that this is Italian Heritage Month. OK, it came to my attention via an email from my boss. So, you know what that means? Yep, time for another list. I pondered what list − great Italian-American inventors (DaVinci, Marconi, Mr. Noodle), great Italian-American singers (Bennett, Sinatra, Johnny Fontane), great Italian-American actors (Pacino, DeNiro, Marlon Brando).

That wouldn't do. The sports editor of The Palm Beach Post could only do one thing to honor my family and my occupation: It had to be a list of the greatest Italian-American sports figures in U.S. history. And what a list this is. We have a man whose name appears in a popular song AND novel. A quarterback who was Tom Brady before there was a Tom Brady. A person who's listed in Bartlett's Book of Quotations.